JoNorvelleWalker

There is no cooking task I detest more than breaking down a chicken. Especially tonight as I desperately tried to channel my inner Child. I now understand the true purpose of a toque: to keep chicken out of the chef's hair. Dinner had an apple theme. Poulet Vallee D' Auge. Autumn in Jersey as an aperitif. It may not exactly be autumn but this is [New] Jersey. Boneless (see above) chicken breast with Calvados laced sauce allemande. For the sauce allemande I used More Than Gourmet mushroom and chicken essences. I may have overdone it. Those essences are concentrated. Worse, I cut my thumb ripping open the cardboard box. How can you break down a chicken without injury (not counting chicken in your hair) and then bloody yourself on cardboard? ON CARDBOARD. I ask you. Beverage was to have been sparkling cider. I COULDN'T GET THE CORK OUT. In addition to the sauce allemande, sauce cranberry was served. Because I am a red blooded American and I can.

It may not have butter but at least it has a crack.

There was a local bean to bar place that sold gritty chocolate. Good flavor though. Sadly they were not in business very long.

Not sure this helps, I've a box of spinach in the freezer. Where it's lived happily for most of this century. I could send it to you.

Beans and ribs were what I planned last night! Around midnight reality caught up with me and dinner was bread and cheese. Good bread though. And Methode Rotuts. The ribs are precooked sous vide but even with my new pressure cooker beans are not instant.

I'm having milk and Ankarsrum oatmeal cookies at the moment...almost the same thing.

My tax refund came and I ordered two more Williams Sonoma branded Scanpan non-stick pans similar to the ones I linked above. Perhaps not the smartest thing for someone who may soon lose her job. But I've been cooking more and more with induction on the Paragon(s); and my Cuisinart pans from the 1980's -- at least nine Cuisinart pans that I can count -- are not compatible with induction* and the flimsy Cuisinart spot welds fall off. I should add that the Cuisinart pans are not non-stick. As a plus I really like the Williams Sonoma handle design, which is consistent across multiple lines of Williams Sonoma branded cookware. One of my favorite pans is a Williams Sonoma stainless steel stir fry pan with the same handle. And most Williams Sonoma branded pans are cheap by almost any standard. The made in Thailand stir fry pan I love was about $30. *my Falk pans are not compatible with induction either, but the rivets do not fall out.

Today I read in the NY Times that steel cut oats are more healthful than rolled oats because rolled oats are precooked. Who knew? I was planning to flock some oats for oatmeal but I found* an old, half full box of Quaker rolled oats and used the Quaker oats instead. They tasted rancid. True, they were probably well past their best by date. Then I baked some oatmeal cookies, but not with the Quaker oats. *not really "found", I knew where it was all along. That doesn't always help.

Indeed. I had to pull out my copy of The Good Cook Beverages to look. Not that I need more glassware but how many ounces do they hold?

Vollrath won't warrant my stainless steel mixing bowls.

Sadly at the moment I am not in Amsterdam but in sympathy with your plight... Pomme frites a la Kenji. Salad and sauce Momofuku not shown.

Lying in bed about dawn, covers over my head trying to get back to sleep with a truck outside my window with the engine running...I realized I could simply weigh the bag of oats. Yes, I added all the oats I had intended. There must be some other explanation. I shall never again expect success from a recipe I've tried to convert from dry volume to weight.

Nothing I've seen in the Ankarsrum literature or demonstration videos mentions cooking the groats before flocking. In any event I did not cook my groats and I was quite pleased with the result.

Not sure this really happened, so don't go quoting me: I shall never again add only half the oats to oatmeal cookies.

She whips cream sitting down?

Why does anyone need this for the kitchen? My fanciest are Ruhlman spoons.

Almost like sauce Momofuku.

Ankarsrum flocker in action. Dough for walnut oat cookies in the freezer.

I've had my Vesta on order since last fall when Kerry kindly brought it to our attention. I heard from Vesta day before yesterday that the freezer will ship the middle of next month.

No, no, no. No stuff under the bed. Not here, not for years, not never. I'm too old to extract an errant cat or robot. I will however share a portion of my less embarrassing bedroom storage.* Nonstick pans live to the rear left, below the Ankarsrum mixing bowl, just above the Matfer chinois. Hope this helps. *Thankfully the closets are too dark to take a picture. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

Just ask Jeff... http://amzn.com/B0157AWYT2

Had I the option I wouldn't set my alarm for anything. However I'd gladly stay up late for an @Ann_T breakfast.

This isn't going to end well.

Why wouldn't you use the same flatware as in the dining room?

Or you could have just checked his avatar.